Abstract.
In insect societies, eggs laid by workers are frequently killed by other workers – a behaviour known as “worker policing”. The traditional explanation of worker policing is that it is a mechanism to resolve intracolony conflict, and maintain the reproductive monopoly of the queen. Recently, Pirk et al. (2004) proposed that worker policing instead is aimed at removing unviable worker-laid eggs and is ultimately just another example of hygienic behaviour. Here we test this hypothesis for the common wasp Vespula vulgaris, a species with highly effective worker policing. We show that worker-laid eggs from queenless colonies have a lower hatch rate (68%) than queen-laid eggs (82%). Analysis of egg laying rates of queens and workers, however, shows that the difference is not big enough to explain the apparent absence of adult worker-derived males in this species.
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Received 30 January 2006; revised 2 May 2006; accepted 5 May 2006.
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Helanterä, H., Tofilski, A., Wenseleers, T. et al. Worker policing in the common wasp Vespula vulgaris is not aimed at improving colony hygiene. Insect. Soc. 53, 399–402 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-005-0885-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-005-0885-6